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NLJ this week: How much can we rely on a witness’s memory?

07 March 2025
Issue: 8107 / Categories: Legal News , Procedure & practice , Dispute resolution
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Memory is fallible, so how should litigation lawyers be aware of this when preparing witness statements? Mary Young, partner, and Laurence Clarke, senior associate, in the dispute resolution team at Kingsley Napley, discuss the unreliability of memory and court procedure rules introduced nearly four years ago on record-keeping and preparation of witness statements.

One problem, as they explain, is that ‘through the process of remembering or recalling events, an individual can change or edit their own recollection’.

Young and Clarke write: ‘The difficulty for a judge is that they may be faced with two witnesses who give different accounts of the same events, while at the same time both being entirely honest and fully believing that the evidence they give is accurate.’ 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Kate Gaskell, Flex Legal

NLJ Career Profile: Kate Gaskell, Flex Legal

Kate Gaskell, CEO of Flex Legal, reflects on chasing her childhood dreams underscores the importance of welcoming those from all backgrounds into the profession

Dorsey & Whitney—Jonathan Christy

Dorsey & Whitney—Jonathan Christy

Dispute resolution team welcomes associate in London

Winckworth Sherwood—Kevin McManamon

Winckworth Sherwood—Kevin McManamon

Special education needs and mental capacity expert joins as partner

NEWS
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Two speedier and more streamlined qualification routes have been launched for probate and conveyancing professionals
Workplace stress was a contributing factor in almost one in eight cases before the employment tribunal last year, indicating its endemic grip on the UK workplace
In NLJ this week, Ian Smith, emeritus professor at UEA, explores major developments in employment law from the Supreme Court and appellate courts
Writing in NLJ this week, Kamran Rehman and Harriet Campbell of Penningtons Manches Cooper examine Operafund Eco-Invest SICAV plc v Spain, where the Commercial Court held that ICSID and Energy Charter Treaty awards cannot be assigned
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